Text: Job 12:7-12, Psalm 148:1-14, Matthew 6:26
Of all the monastic saints, we see reminders of Saint Francis of Assisi the most. He is immortalized in backyards everywhere as a stone lawn statue, usually cradling a bird or comforting a fawn. And there is truth behind the sculptures; Francis was actually very well known for his care and attention to animals. In fact, his enthusiasm for preaching the gospel and his love for animals occasionally drove him to go so far as to preach sermons to flocks of birds.
In 1226, with his vision failing and his life nearing its end, he wrote a poem titled “The Canticle of the Sun.” In his weakened state, he celebrated the psalmic call for all creation to praise God as Creator (Psalm 19).
Saint Francis was always keen on unity with nature. In fact, in his original version of this hymn he referred to creation as family: brother sun, sister water, brother fire, mother earth, brother wind, and sister moon (Bailey 264). Although some English translations maintain those sentiments, when William Draper translated it from Latin to English in 1910 for a children’s festival, he paraphrased the original poem, leaving out references to any familial relationships with creation.
We can all join with creation to say, “Hallelujah!” and praise God for His creative goodness. We can sing with the psalmist in Psalm 148, praising God with the stars and the waters, the sea monsters, lightning, and clouds. Let us join together to praise and honor the Lord of heaven and earth.
All Creatures of Our God and King
William Draper
All creatures of our God and King,
lift up your voice and with us sing:,
alleluia, alleluia!
O burning sun with golden beam,
and shining moon with silver gleam,
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
O rushing wind so wild and strong,
white clouds that sail in heaven along,
alleluia, alleluia!
New rising dawn in praise rejoice;
you lights of evening find a voice:
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Cool flowing water, pure and clear,
make music for your Lord to hear:
alleluia, alleluia!
Fierce fire, so masterful and bright,
providing us with warmth and light.
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Earth ever fertile, day by day
bring forth your blessings on our way;
alleluia, alleluia!
All flowers and fruits that is you grow,
let the his glory also show;
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
All you who are of tender heart,
forgiving others, take your part;
alleluia, alleluia!
All you who pain and sorrow bear,
praise God and on him cast your care;
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Let all things their Creator bless,
and worship him in humbleness,
alleluia, alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
and praise the Spirit, Three in One:
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Bailey, Albert Edward. The Gospel in Hymns: Backgrounds and Interpretations. New York: Scribner, 1950.
Sometimes how God works in mind-boggling.
First of, my family and I are recovered from our sickness, so thank you for all the prayers. It feels good to be back to “normal” and I am praying for others still awaiting that.
Tuesday is the day after our homeschool co op, and it’s a day we hit homeschooling hard. We set the tempo of the rest of the week with what we do on Tuesday morning. As mom, that usually means an extra early start to make sure I am ready and doing MY best to set us up for success. Cue the 3 year old, who for the last few days has decided that 4:45am is a great time to wake up. I can easily get frustrated that the whole morning feels derailed by this unexpected change of MY plans. Today, by the grace of God, I embraced it, and him. I was so thankful for the ability to put my wants aside. I got him set up with a snack and a show so I could focus on my Bible Study. Before I started I got an overwhelming urge to pray for my husband…and I felt like I didn’t know what to pray so I sat a moment just listening. I ended up praying Matthew 6:25-27 over him and THEN dove into the study today. I love when God goes before us, I love when He fills our hearts with words to pray over those near and dear. I ended up sending the Job passage and the Matthew passage to him via text, knowing God was ahead of it and preparing my husband to receive it as the gift from God that it was.
Today’s hymn is one of my favorites and another that has me remembering the church sanctuary filled with voices in praise! Thankful today for the goodness of God to meet me where I am!
CHERYL BLOW – I had copied that verse into my comment, too!
10 The life of every living thing is in his hand, as well as the breath of all humanity.
I know I have shared this verse before, but it fits here, too! As I have shared before, I often see the trees in my yard doing just that when the wind blows just right.
SHARON, JERSEY GIRL – Thankful your surgery went well and that recovery is off to such a great start!
Isaiah 55:12
For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
SEARCHING – “He made it all, and He gave His all. How can I not praise Him for all He has done?” AMEN, sister!!! ❤
KRISTINE LOUGHMAN and SHARON, JG – Amen! I feel the same way. Sometimes I feel like Snow White caring for all the critters and plants around our house. What joy they bring, mostly I think because we see them as gifts from our good Father and reminders of his care and attention.
AGNUS DEI by Michael W. Smith
Alleluia, alleluia
For our Lord God Almighty reigns
Alleluia, alleluia
For our Lord God Almighty reigns
Alleluia
Holy, holy
Are You, Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb
You are holy, holy
Are You, Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb
Amen
This worship song is so beautiful and I had planned to share it at the close of the study, but it just fits today’s reading. Listen to it and release your heart and soul to worship. I have always loved this chorus, but haven’t heard it in a while. It was in the suggestions I followed on YouTube yesterday while on the treadmill!
I also want to mention a page on youtube that I saw yesterday. Hymns Made Fresh – a good resource for learning the hymns we aren’t familiar with. It highlights the words in the correct timing, etc.
Lifting requests to our Creator!
God is worthy of our praise!
I love this verse in Job!
10 In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind. – Job 12:10
Hallelujah!
My heart has not been praising the Lord as I should lately, and I am feeling convicted today to start making that a more consistent part of my prayer life.
All you who pain and sorrow bear,
praise God and on him cast your care;
I am quick to cast my sorrows and pain, but often forget to praise the God of this beautiful creation.
Praying today for requests mentioned.
For anyone who is interested in the study book we are using to guide us in our Screwtape Letters book club, I bought this one from Amazon:
The Screwtape Letters Study Guide: A Bible Study on the C.S. Lewis Book The Screwtape Letters (CS Lewis Study Series) Paperback – July 4, 2015
by Alan Vermilye (Author)
It is written by a pastor and has very good guiding questions in it.
Praising God this morning for all His blessings and seeing how He truly is working behind the scenes of my life and my son’s life!
Praising God this morning for all you SRT sisters! Every time I open this app I am filled with so much encouragement and gratitude for your prayers. Thank you thank you and have a wonderful week❤️❤️
Ladies, the past few days I’ve felt disconnected from God. I don’t think I’m alone in this. I know it’s me, and I’ve felt so on fire lately, so I’m trying to not get down on myself.
I’m struggling with accepting a possible end of a friendship because I just can’t make sense of it. So I’ve been praying and talking to God about it, to help me find peace since HE KNOWS, and I may never know why. I have an idea, but I don’t know for sure bc she hasn’t spoke to me. This woman has been a huge part of my life for the last 8 years, more like a mother figure, so I just don’t understand. It has me in my head almost constantly about it.
Any suggestions or helpful guidance is absolutely appreciated. Thank you, ladies ❤️
Praising God today for all His creation! The life and breath of every creature and all mankind is in His hand! I never cease to be amazed by God’s creation. Every time I see a beautiful sunset or sunrise – I feel they are shouting God’s praise. Every time I pick a flower from my garden and see how beautiful it is it reminds me of the artistic hand of God that pays attention to every detail right down to every individual petal! God is awesome – there is no other way to describe Him – give Him praise in the highest!! @Rhonda J. – I love Brandon Lake’s song, “I’ll Praise You Anywhere” it was one of the songs he sang at his concert last month – he did an a fantastic job! Many times this song is going through my mind on “repeat”. … “Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens.” Psalm 148:13
@Mercy – praying for your family’s health and that sickness does not run through you all as the colder days approach.
@Aleida – praying that your home sells soon, and that you transition well into your new home. Also – praise the Lord for Victor’s part time job! Praying that he will continue to go to his meetings and that he will see the vital importance of having car insurance & make that a priority. That’s not something you want to be without.
@Kelly Neo and @all of you praying for my sister Arian – thank you! Continued prayers that she will be able to pay her expenses from month to month. She has been searching for a full time job, but nothing yet. Also – her car breaks down just about every other week!
Thank you all for your prayers for my knee surgery – all went well, Praise the Lord! They had me up and walking right away, but I can’t drive for a week. The pain is minimal with a little stiffness and should go away in the next few days.
Blessings to you all!
@Sharon, JG- hope your surgery was successful and you are resting :)